A large number of retail establishments have recently begun to provide inexpensive plastic shopping bags to customers in place of the traditional paper bags. Because of the thinness of the material from which the plastic shopping bags are made, it is often inconvenient to carry objects in the plastic bags by supporting the bags from the bottom or sides. Plastic shopping bags therefore typically include two loops of plastic material extending from the upper rim of the bag, the loops being adapted to be used as handles for carrying the bag and its contents. However, when the contents of the bag are comparatively heavy, the loops exert a considerable pressure on the hand of the person carrying the bag. Although plastic shopping bags could be provided with a stiffer, reinforcing material to alleviate this problem, such a solution would increase the cost of the plastic shopping bag and would therefore to some extent be self-defeating.